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PORTSIDE CULTURE

POSTPONING THE SAVANT ONLY HIGHLIGHTS THE SHOW’S IMPORTANCE  
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Saloni Gajjar
September 30, 2025
AV Club
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_ How is a straightforward Apple TV+ series that condemns white
supremacists controversial? _

The Savant , (Photo: Apple TV+)

 

There’s a good chance most people hadn’t heard of Apple
TV+’s _The Savant_, the political thriller from _The
Americans _and _House Of Cards_ writer Melissa James Gibson, before
last week. But the streamer directed attention to its Jessica
Chastain-led show by announcing on September 23 that it was being
pulled from its scheduled two-part premiere in three days’ time. No
meaty reason was provided in a brief, nothingburger statement
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stretch to assume the events surrounding Charlie Kirk
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assassination and its aftermath
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a driving force, considering the series’ focus on right-wing
extremist groups, the manosphere, and domestic terrorism. However,
it’s the wrong move to push a drama that tries to address not
just our current reality
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also the ongoing violence problem. In a lengthy social media post
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herself disagreed with the choice to pause _The Savant _and listed
multiple mass shooting events, writing: “These incidents, though far
from encompassing the full range of violence witnessed in the United
States, illustrate a broader mindset that crosses the political
spectrum and must be confronted.” 

The show doesn’t even focus on any specific or recent
occurrence—its inspiration is the 2019 _Cosmopolitan _article
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It Possible To Stop A Mass Shooting Before It Happens?” Chastain’s
character Jodi Goodwin, based on the subject of the story, is a mother
of two, whose husband (played by Nnamdi Asomugha) is deployed
overseas. She anonymously infiltrates hate groups, uses her skills to
suss out men who pose a real threat, and works with the FBI to arrest
them before they can act out. _The A.V. Club_‘s review, which is
now on hold, dubbed the show “timely” and “urgent.” Without
getting into any further details or spoilers that are still under
embargo, Jodi’s mental health and family life are impacted by her
job in ways we’ve seen before on _Homeland_ and _24_, so _The
Savant _is pretty standard in that sense. In fact, after watching all
eight episodes, there’s nothing inflammatory or seditious going
on—there’s no mention of Republicans, Democrats, or any other
people in power, nor is there as much gunfighting or real action. This
makes the company’s unprovoked choice even more baffling. (Apple TV+
representatives didn’t respond to _The A.V. Club_‘s request for
additional comments or a new release date.)

In all likelihood, Apple hopes to avoid controversy over a
particularly hot-button issue right now that could come with airing a
drama that sees men motivated to commit crimes, driven by their
sexism, misogyny, and fanaticism. The company also doesn’t want to
face the potential wrath of a thin-skinned POTUS (or lawsuits in the
vein of Disney’s and Paramount
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This preemptive act could also stem from everything that went down
with Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night talk show was suspended for a few
days
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of his remarks about MAGA and Kirk’s shooter. At least he got
the ABC gig back
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but several other people lost their jobs in the wake of comments they
made about Kirk, per _The New York Times_
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Still, it’s worth asking how we got to a point where a
straightforward program that condemns white supremacists and their
rhetoric has become a target—if it is indeed one at all, considering
neither President Trump nor anyone in his administration has
mentioned _The Savant _as of this writing.  

Plus, this is far from the only current pop-culture project that deals
with stories about fascism or neo-Nazism. In the latest episode of
HBO Max’s _Peacemaker_
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Chris Smith (John Cena) finally learns the brutal truth behind his
beloved alternate dimension: All the people of color there have
apparently been locked up, and the stars on the U.S. flag have been
replaced by the swastika symbol. Then there’s Paul Thomas
Anderson’s _One Battle After Another_
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DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor play members of a far-left revolutionary
group, while Sean Penn co-stars as a colonel who goes on a rampage so
he can join a secret club of white supremacists
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themselves “the superior beings.” And FX’s _The Lowdown_
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Harjo, sees journalist Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) dig into the
corruption of Tulsa’s political leaders, including a gubernatorial
candidate with ties to white supremacy. 

Which is all to say: _The Savant _doesn’t warrant the specific
scrutiny it’s gotten. It’s probably not easy to navigate this type
of territory, with the President ready to denounce anyone, especially
those in the media, who might oppose him. But that’s not what the
show is about. And to paraphrase Kimmel’s monologue
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his returning episode on September 23—again, the same day _The
Savant _was put on the back burner—”This show is not important.
What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us
to have a show like this.”

* the savant
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* White Supremacist Movements
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* mass shootings
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* Jessica Chastain
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* apple tv+
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